Lupino Lane (The Dude) and his younger brother, Wallace Lupino (The Rival) are at it once again. I love the introductory cards for some of the old comedy shorts. In this case about Lupino Lane's character, it reads: "A poor little rich boy with not enough to do, and not enough energy to do it." Lane, the proverbial 98 pound weakling falls for a girl whose" intended" is a big handsome man. After some pushing around, the Rival says to the Dude: "If you were a man, I'd spank you." The girl's father tells the Dude that he needs to join a gymnasium, which the Dude does. Lane who was a small, almost scrawny looking man was very athletic – and double-jointed. The ensuing routines at the gym are amazing. At any rate, after six lessons, the Dude thinks he ready to fight The Rival. He wasn't and gets beaten up. As he's leaving, he challenges his rival to another fight one month hence. And so back to the gym he continues to train. This time their fight is a more formal one in a boxing ring. The girl wants to see the fight and comes to it dressed as (and pretending to be) a man. I assume women were not allowed to see such events. Interesting. During the fight, Lupino exhibits some fancy footwork and the interesting strategy of tickling his opponent who then falls down laughing. First one then another of the opponents is knocked down with referee moving from one to the other to give the count. But in the end, the rival wins the bout and leaves the ring triumphantly. Undeterred, the Dude continues his training and while out running near a golf course, comes upon his rival who is molesting the girl. As he fights with his rival the girl walks off with two golfers. The Dude and the Rival stop fighting for a moment and look toward where the girl went. Now the two young golfers who walked off with her are fighting each other and the girl is walking off into the distance. Not as funny as some of the Lupino Lanes but still worth a watch. The credits give the director's and writer's name as William Goodrich, a name used by Fatty Arbuckle after the infamous Virginia Rappe trial(s).
